Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

The Tomball Memorial Wildcats recently upended crosstown rival Tomball in basketball play. The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-2 lead and held on for the 50-48 overtime win. Pictured is Wildcat guard D.J. Thomas defending a shot by Tomball's Marqueese Grayson.

Magnolia's Lady Bulldog basketball team continued their winning ways, upending their rival Magnolia West 60-39, Jan. 22.
The win improved the Lady Bulldogs to 10-2 in district play, putting them in a three way tie with Brenham and Montgomery.
The Lady Mustangs kept the game close throughout the first quarter, trailing just 12-11 heading into the second period.
Magnolia's depth and their full court pressure began to wear on Magnolia West, as the Lady Bulldogs opened up a nine-point halftime lead.
The third quarter was the deciding factor, as Magnolia went on a 19-5 run to break open the game and grab a 51-29 lead.
Allison Abendschein led all scorers with 15 points, and recently picked up the 1,000th point of her high school career as well. Ashley Richardson and Savannah Schroeder each pumped in 10 points in the win.
The Lady Bulldogs took on Waller Jan. 25, but results were unavailable as of press time.

The Tomball Lady Cougars basketball squad advanced to the 4A area championship game, after an undefeated run through District 22-4A competition and a mauling of Houston Austin in the bi-district round.

The Lady Cougars have rolled off 11 consecutive wins in cruising to a 27-6 overall record and number 15 4A state ranking.

Their first playoff game was at home against Houston Austin Feb. 11. The Lady Cougars ran to a 20-3 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back, as they rolled to a 59-20 win.

Tomball's Carissa Diaz led all scorers with 21 points on 10-21 shooting, while also grabbing nine rebounds. Senior Lexe Marks dropped in 12 points for the Lady Cougars, while senior Layna Waters added seven points and three assists.

The Lady Cougars traveled to Don Coleman Coliseum in Houston Feb. 15, to take on Foster in the Area Championship game. Results were not available at press time.

Throughout the Tomball Lady Cougars playoff run, they barreled their way through opponents with strong defense and a meticulous offense. In the regional championship game Feb. 22, Tomball ran into an opponent with a stifling defense to match and fell just short of the 4A Final Four, falling to top-ranked Georgetown 41-30.

The disappointing loss came one game after a thrilling win over Pflugerville Connally Feb. 21, in the regional semifinals.

Facing a team that likes to run up and down the court, the Lady Cougars took their ball control offense to another level in that contest, defeating Connally 45-40. Tomball raced to a big lead, before going ice cold in the third quarter.

The Lady Cougars found themselves down 30-28 in the final period, when Alayna Waters made a layup while getting fouled. Waters made the free throw, giving Tomball back the lead, one they wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the game.

After the hard fought victory, the Lady Cougars faced a daunting challenge in the regional championship game, as their opponent would be the top-ranked Georgetown Lady Eagles.

Georgetown raced to an 8-0 lead en route to a 13 point halftime lead.

Tomball coach Karen Lemker told her team at halftime that mistakes caused the early deficit and that if they played better in the second half they could still make it a game.
The Lady Cougars closed the gap to six with about three minutes to play, but the Lady Eagles were able to hit clutch free throws down the stretch, in pulling away for a 41-30 victory.

Carissa Diaz led Tomball with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Lexe Mark added seven points.

The loss ended the most successful run for the Lady Cougars (30-7) since 1994, which was Tomball's last appearance at state.